Easy Crockpot Creamy Chicken Enchilada Chili

video tutorial

I’ve been majorly holding out on you guys with this soup!! I made way too many Christmas treats last year (wait; is that even a thing? SLASH saying “last year” feels kind of crazy…time flies!) that I had to share before Christmas had come. So treats did take precedence over soup. This soup has been photographed and ready to share for over a month now, but I hadn’t gotten around to actually typing out a post. ? And then I promised on Instagram it would be coming over two weeks ago. Major fail. ?

But it’s here now and you’re going to want to eat this soup every night for the rest of this winter! ?

Several months ago I threw my (now married) sister her bridal shower. We decided to do some soups, salads, a caramel apple bar, and a few other desserts. One of the soups was a chicken enchilada chili. My family is addicted to the chicken enchilada chili at Zupas so I tried my best to re-create it for the shower. While it was delicious, it wasn’t quite how I wanted it.

After the shower there wasn’t a spoonful left so I had to re-make it for my boys. This time I changed it up quite a bit and it tasted pretty identical to Zupas. Instantly this soup became a favorite! A favorite for me (talk about EASY– just a dump it and forget about it kind of meal), and a favorite from the boys taste-wise. They inhale this soup! I’ve tweaked the recipe a few more times since it’s already been made half a dozen times. This has become our “Sunday meal” — put it in the slow cooker before church and dinner is ready when we get back! ?

This soup is quite mild depending on the enchilada sauce you use. I’ve used both mild and medium. Medium is our personal favorite (and not too spicy for the 2-year old), but if you are super sensitive to spice, stick to the mild. And as you know, all store-bought enchilada sauces aren’t created equal — some are definitely more spicy or more mild than others so use an enchilada sauce you know and love! Alternatively, you can substitute your own homemade enchilada sauce if desired. Just keep the quantities about the same as a 10-11 ounce can (about 1 and 1/4 cup).

If you want more spice, I’ve also added a little chipotle chili powder a few times which is delicious. You could add in some jalapeños or extra green chilis — whatever you like that gives a chicken chili more “spice” should work well in this soup!

Then as far as toppings? Cheddar cheese is a MUST! This soup is seriously good with tons of cheese mixed in….plus — cheese strings: ?. I also love sour cream — we use fat-free and it’s delicious in this soup. While I absolutely love a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some cilantro, neither are a “must.” And avocado is just for a nutritional boost (plus so tasty in this soup) if you like avocados. The husband thinks they are a little weird in soup, but I love ’em so that topping is up to you!

I like to cut each chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces after removing the fat only if I'm cooking this on high (cooks faster/more evenly in my crockpot).

Add in the chicken stock and all of the seasonings. Stir well.

Cover and place on high for 3-5 hours (or until chicken will easily shred) or low for 5-8 hours (again, until chicken will shred easily)

Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred in another bowl using two forks.

Meanwhile, cube the cream cheese into small cubes (it should be very softened -- melt in microwave) and put them in the crockpot. Stir well and cover. Change temperature to high. Let it sit for a few minutes and then using a large whisk, briskly whisk the cream cheese to melt.

Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot. Stir and cover. Cook on high until all the cream cheese is completely melted. Stir.

Serve with sour cream, cheddar cheese, avocado, and fresh cilantro as desired. If you only do one topping, to me, cheddar cheese is a MUST!

Recipe Notes

*I've used Rosarita brand, Old El Paso, and Great Value brand (medium and mild, medium preferred for us, but use what you like best) **You can use just plain diced tomatoes if desired, it still tastes great!

Oh my goodness, this was such a hit! I made it for myself and the boyfriend last night, and he just texted me and told me he wishes he’d brought more with him for lunch 🙂 It was truly one of those “set it and forget it” recipes – I put it together before leaving for work, set it at 8 hours on low, and came back to chicken so tender I shredded it using a spoon. What an awesome chili – I definitely plan on making it again!

Hmm. I’ve never had a problem with that. Did you use a lower fat cream cheese? Also it will be best if it’s not straight out of the fridge next time perhaps soften it a bit before adding it (the instructions list the cream cheese should be softened). It should blend in perfectly and be completely smooth.

Chili beans are something you’ll find in the canned good aisle; usually just dark red kidney beans in a mild chili-spiked sauce. If you can’t find chili beans, you can likely just substitute red kidney beans and then perhaps add a bit more chili seasoning. Hope that helps 🙂

Totally, I skip it every time to cut out dairy and extra calories. Although I love cream cheese and know that it probably tastes even more amazing with it, it’s still delicious without. I actually have it in the crock pot right now(:

Can something else be substituted for cream cheese like sour cream or half & half? I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese flavor except on bagels. I used it in another recipe recently and it gave the food a weird flavor.

I made it with only one pound of chicken (since that’s what I had on hand), but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. (It was delicious by the way). With everything added up, the entire pot was 3,075 calories. Just divide that up into servings. I’m not sure on the other nutritional info, but that’s how the calories pan out anyway. It’s a great recipe!

I ran across this recipe while trying to find a recipe with what I had on hand. And I have to admit I had my doubts because of the enchilada sauce, i’m not a fan. But the cream cheese complimented this and really brought it together! Delicious!!!! My whole family of 7 LOVED it, myself included. Everyone talked about how good it was between bites! Wish i knew how to make this with beef too! This will absolutely become a new dish in my home! Thank you for sharing!!

I made this for our church group last night and it was a hit. The only change I would make is that 2 cups of chicken broth (stock) is just too much. I would at least 1/2 that amount. The taste was great though.

I don’t put in the cream cheese and its always good .. sometimes I will add a little cheese on top to have that extra to it but I don’t need the extra calories either ..
I love this recipe either way … for company I add the cream cheese …

Stumbled across this recipe last weekend and have been thinking about it ever since. Finally made it today, and both my husband and I loved it. Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to searching your site for additional recipes.

I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work great to put all the ingredients except the cream cheese in a freezer bag. Freeze. Thaw when ready, cook it all, and add in fresh cream cheese at the end. 🙂

I’ve made this THREE times now and it’s always amazing. My family loves it, even my husband who swears he doesn’t like soups. This is seriously easy and one of my favorite things to eat right now! Well done!!!

This is my current favorite recipe, in fact it’s sitting in my crockpot for the third time in the past month. I skip the cream cheese and limit the chicken to a pound just to reduce calories. Next time I’ll try it with half the amount of cream cheese and see how it goes. I also double the corn because we love corn over here, lol.
Hubby adds low calorie, thin yellow corn tortillas to the bottom of his bowl and of course a dollop of light Daisy sour cream brings it all together. We love it, thanks again.

Did you soften it well? I’ve made this soup dozens of times and so have a lot of readers without problems, so I’d love to help you trouble shoot…Was it full-fat? How soft was it? Did you let it sit on high heat and then stir it well?

Absolutely love this recipe, so easy and tastes great! I’ve probably made it 3 times in the last month. I noticed a few people were having trouble with the cream cheese, mine also wasn’t blending (softened in microwave for 10 seconds). What worked for me was using a medium sized whisk and mixing (fairly fast) for about 5 minutes or until it started to blend. Hope that helps!

Chelsea first off I want to thank you and also my wife for turning me on to Pinterest. Here is my story. I work for Applied Materials in Santa Clara Ca, I am part of the legal department and we did a Tommys Best Chef competition Series. I actually came in mid competition and one the Crock pot comp with my Nawlins style Red Beans and rice. In the next competition I was one of the top three so I was in the finals. We all agreed to do Chili. I knew I didn’t want to do traditional so my wife said I should try Pinterest. Thats where I found you and your wonderful recipe! Well I decided on your chili and called it Zupa’s Style Chicken Enchilada Chili. When I went to bed I was not very confident I would win against two good cooks with traditional chili. We did blind tasting and the results were announced at our holiday party. All the proceeds from the various competitions were donated to the Second Harvest food bank. Well you will be happy to know your chili (cannot call it mine) 😉 was announced as the winner!!! I was so proud. Won a nice trophy and a best Chef apron and a gift basket with a one hundred dollar GC to Sur la Table. Everyone loved the chili and so did my family! In fact when my wife woke up the morning of the comp she came in and woke me up and said,”I don’t know what the other two contestants are bringing to the tablebut this is going to be very hard to beat”. Thanks for sharing the recipe Chelsea. It was a direct HIT!

One other thing to note. I decided to use Medium Enchilada Sauce (1 10 oz can) and then added a little of the hot. About a quarter can. I chickened out on two full cans as I was doubling the recipe. Seemed soupy to me. However the next morning it did thicken a bit. In retrospect I probably should have dumped more in because during the time the servers were serving the chili people were asking for more of the broth and as we got down to what was left to take home I lost a lot of liquid. I also did not have a real issue with the cream cheese. I added it in cubes at the three hour mark when things were really cooking. I did whisk it but man that cream cheese really settles down the bark of the enchilada sauce to perfection. For a almost no prep dish I almost feel as if I cheated. LOL. I also made some jiffy cornbread but substituted Sweet cream corn for the milk (whole can) with two boxes. To Die For. Thanks again.

I am seriously so happy about this comment! 🙂 It made my day! What a fun competition and CONGRATULATIONS! That’s so exciting you won!! It takes a great cook not just a recipe to win a contest like that 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing Derrick!!

This recipe is amazing I put it in the crockpot last night before bed and woke up early this morning and finished making it. It tastes delicious and I know my inlaws will love it for our christmas party today. I do have one suggestion for the cream cheese that made it really easy to mix in though I used a hand mixer and blended it before putting it into the soup and it made it much easier to mix in. Loved this soup I will definitely make it again!

Made this today and it was wonderful! I took some of the hot liquid out and added the cream cheese then wisked it until smooth and added it back in. Worked like a charm. Will definitely make this again.

For a quick stovetop method, add everything except the cream cheese & chicken into a large stockpot, add in pre-cooked and shredded rotisserie chicken or other chicken you’ve previously cooked. Once the soup is hot, melt the cream cheese in the microwave and then briskly whisk into the soup until well combined. Heat through and enjoy with the toppings 🙂

I was just wondering how this is not too hot with 1.5 TBSP chili powder? I am Australia and our chili powder is 100% ground chillies and this much would make it very very hot (I love hot food). Maybe you mean chili seasoning mix?

I’ve made this recipe twice in under two weeks. Seriously so good! With a house full of boys, it’s great to find quick and easy recipe that taste phenomenal like this one. I just shared it with all my friends. 🙂

I have made this several times already, and last time I had forgotten where I had got this recipe from, so after researching the web, I made sure to print it out. It’s a keeper! It’s really yummy with decent ingredients and my family loves it. I made it for a teachers’ dinner at my kids’ school and it was also a hit. LOVE that it is so easy to just throw all the things in the crockpot and none of them are weird ingredients or things you have to prep even before the crockpot. 🙂

Hi Chelsea,
This is my first time at your site, which I discovered on Pinterest, looking for a crockpot chicken enchilada recipe.

I have not made this recipe yet but I just wanted to thank you for posting nutritional information! So many bloggers do not, and I really appreciate it as my daughter and I both need to watch fat, carbs, sugars, etc.

I plan to make this with turkey thighs (we are not fans of white meat poultry) and to substitute seasoned salt with Goya Adobo seasoning (garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper). I’m sure it will be delicious.

Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. Tried it last weekend to rave reviews. Made a couple of changes–reduced the chicken stock to 1 1/2 cups, added two chopped fresh jalapenos and used boneless skinless chicken thighs (my husband prefers dark meat) instead of chicken breasts. Delicious!

This recipe is a 10/10. I also added a whole chopped red capsicum, used plain red kidney beans & half a small tin of tomato paste, half a large can of corn. 1/4 teaspoon of Mexican chilli NOT cayenne pepper. Used 3 chicken breasts & there was a lot, would use 2 breasts next time. I left out the cream cheese & served it on the side.

I never leave comments about recipes I try from Pinterest, mainly because they turn out O.K. And aren’t really noteworthy. This recipe, however, is hands-down one of the best things I have ever eaten. My boyfriend ate three bowls and said “this stuff should win an award!”. Thank you for posting this super easy super delicious recipe.

Hi Chelsea! I love this recipe & it’s become a fast household favorite for me! I was wondering if I could have your permission to show case the recipe/picture on my blog and give credit to you and link back to your website?

So happy to hear that! Thank you Natasha 🙂 As long as you don’t copy my recipe anywhere I don’t mind you using my photos and linking to my site 🙂 (It hurts my google rankings to have my recipe copied elsewhere. Thanks!)

Wow, Such a quick response! Thank you, I just had a bowl with some jalepeno and it was absolutely AMAZING! I didn’t want to stop! Portioned it in the refrigerator due to your advice and can’t wait for hubby to come home and try it.
Thanks again and I’m certain this will be a repeat in our home!

I’m making this for a chili potluck tomorrow. If I made the entirety of the recipe today, minus the cream cheese then added the cream cheese in right before the potluck tomorrow it should still taste fine right? I just don’t want to ruin it by adding in the cream cheese today, refrigerating tonight then rewarmingnit tomorrow?

That’s fine to add the cream cheese before serving it tomorrow, just make sure the chili is very warm and the cream cheese is super softened before adding it in. You might have to whisk it a little more vigorously, but it should be fine 🙂

I have made this soup three times in the last three weeks! It is SO amazing!!! Everyone has been so impressed with my new cooking skills (which is funny because this recipe is so easy!!) thank you Chelsea for your blog, I have made a few other things (like the homemade kid oatmeal clif bar which is my absolute favorite healthy treat now!) and I’m never disappointed with your recipes! Keep me coming!! You do such a great job!!!

This was so tasty! I was worried about the sodium content being so high so I pretty much grabbed any no salt added version of the canned foods possible.

I don’t think the chicken stock is really necessary because of the liquid from some of the cans. The chili came out pretty runny, even with the rice it was much. I would suggest halving the amount of stock at the least if you’re hesitant to remove it all together.

My dad doesn’t like creamy food and tried it without the cream cheese and thought it was delicious! So if you don’t want that, it’ll still taste great.

I added some lime and cilantro at the end and topped with guac instead of avocado slices. Very yummy. I’m loving the leftovers.

Hello.
I have everything mixed in the crockpot. It sat in the fridge overnight minus the cream cheese. I plan on cooking today while at work and adding the cream cheese right before guests arrive later this evening. Will that be ok? I also got 30% reduced fat cream cheese should I get regular based off reviews? And I was hoping this could be like chili and leave out while we drink and talk. But based on reviews sounds like I can’t leave out. What is the max time? And if I put in fridge can I reheat entire crock pot or just scoop and warm in microwave?
Sorry for dumb questions. Ha. I don’t cook a lot. It looks great but worried I should have stuck with chili now based on what I wanted from a crockpot dish! Ha thank you!!!